Abstract: A method and apparatus for cleaning textile fibers for use in conjunction with an opening roller to which the textile fibers are fed and around which the textile fibers are conveyed, in the form of a fiber bat, in a transport direction. The apparatus includes an arrangement for conveying the textile fibers from an inlet to a clamping point proximate the opening roller; compressing and clamping the textile fibers, in the form of a fiber bat, with a clamping force, the clamping force having a magnitude which is a function of a characteristic of the fiber bat; drawing the fiber bat from the clamping point to a takeover point on a periphery of the opening roller, the fiber bat then being subjected to centrifugal force due to rotation of the opening roller; conveying the fiber bat, under the influence of the centrifugal force, to a separating blade; and separating an area of the fiber bat having contaminants concentrated therein resulting from the centrifugal force and from the drawing of the fiber bat.